snipped from her bio
http://www.house.gov/waters/bio.htmMaxine Waters also brought national spotlight to the allegations of CIA involvement in the Contra cocaine drug trafficking in South Central Los Angeles in the mid-1980s. She has called for redirecting the resources of the so-called “war on drugs” to prevention and treatment, and for repealing mandatory minimum sentencing laws for minor drug offenses.
Prior to her election to the House of Representatives in 1990, Congresswoman Waters had already attracted national attention for her no-nonsense, no-holds-barred style of politics. During 14 years in the California State Assembly, she rose to the powerful position of Democratic Caucus Chair. She was responsible for some of the boldest legislation California has ever seen: the largest divestment of state pension funds from South Africa; landmark affirmative action legislation; the nation’s first statewide Child Abuse Prevention Training Program; the prohibition of police strip searches for nonviolent misdemeanors; and the introduction of the nation’s first plant closure law.
As an advocate for human rights, Congresswoman Waters was a leader in the movement to end Apartheid and assure one-person, one-vote democracy in South Africa. She founded the Los Angeles Free South Africa Movement and continues to be an advisor to TransAfrica. In 1994, she was on the official U.S. delegation to Nelson Mandela’s inauguration as President of a free South Africa.
Rep. Waters was a key figure in Congressional efforts to restore to power Haiti’s democratically-elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. She also was arrested in front of the White House urging justice for Haitian refugees and the restoration of democracy in Haiti.